Leadership & Board

Michael D. Shmerling,
Founder and Board Chair

mshmerling@abesgarden.org

A native of Nashville, he began his career in 1977 as a Certified Public Accountant with the Nashville office of Ernst & Young, formerly Ernst & Ernst CPAs. Mike has founded or co-founded multiple businesses since leaving public accounting, four of which were ultimately sold to publicly traded NYSE or NASD companies. Following the sale of Background America, Inc. to Kroll Inc, in 1998, he joined Kroll – eventually serving as a member of the Board, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He was subsequently a Senior Advisor to Marsh Inc., following the sale of Kroll to Marsh. He currently serves as Chairman of private equity firm Clearbrook Holdings Corp, formerly known as XMi Holdings.

Mike received numerous Nashville Business Journal Future 50 and Inc. 5000 awards for companies in which he was involved. In addition to this recognition, he received the Tennessee Society of CPAs’ Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award in 1999. In 2007, he was awarded both the Tennessee Society of CPAs’ and the American Institute of CPAs’ Public Service Award. In 2009, he received Community Nashville’s Human Relations Award.

In addition to his role as Founder and Board Chair of Abe’s Garden Community, he also serves on two public company boards – Renasant Bank and HealthStream Inc.

Chris Bowater,
Executive Chef

cbowater@abesgarden.org

Chris joined the Abe’s Garden Community team as the Sous Chef in November 2019. Since then, his role has grown into managing our Culinary Services team as Executive Chef. Chris began working in the restaurant industry at the age of 15 as a dishwasher and busboy, then served as the Kitchen Manager of Pie in the Sky Pizza for two years. He continued to hone his skills at the upscale Germantown restaurant, Silo, where he served as Sous Chef for two years before becoming Silo’s Executive Chef. He is a certified ServSafe® Manager and focuses on cooking from scratch using fresh, local ingredients.

Donna W. Coleman,
MS, CFRE, Senior Director of Marketing and Development

dcoleman@abesgarden.org

Donna Coleman has been a charitable gift planner since 1993. Prior to joining Abe’s Garden Community, she worked at Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices for 23 years, where she served for six years as the Vice President of Charitable Gift Planning. In that role, she led a team of six fundraisers across 14 locations, consistently raising more than $2 million each year. Donna’s focus (and passion) is on building relationships with those who are interested in deepening their connection to the Abe’s Garden Community mission through philanthropic support.

Angela Farmer,
SHRM-CP, Senior Director of Human Resources

afarmer@abesgarden.org

Angela brings over 20 years of HR experience to Abe’s Garden Community, including 17 years in the healthcare industry. During those years, she worked in the areas of radiology management, hospice, and specialty pharmacy. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a Certified Professional designation from the Society of Human Resource Management. Her career has spanned all aspects of HR including leadership development, performance management and employee relations.

Donna Finto-Burks,
MSN, RN, Senior Director of Clinical Care

dfinto-burks@abesgarden.org

Prior to joining Abe’s Garden Community, Donna was director of nursing at The Meadows, where she supervised assisted living and skilled nursing operations. She achieved the title of Nurse Practitioner upon earning a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University.

Judy Shmerling Given,
LCPC, Senior Director of Campus Development

jgiven@abesgarden.org

Daughter of Abe Shmerling, after whom Abe’s Garden Community is named, Judy worked with her brother Michael to create Abe’s Garden in memory of their father. Judy helps families determine which programs and services at Abe’s Garden Community best meet their needs and lends support through the transition process. She also identifies the unmet needs of families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease to develop new programs.

Judy brings her experience as a Clinical Professional Counselor and business owner, as well as more than 22 years working as a clinician, expressive arts therapist and administrator in special education and private practice.

Samantha Hamilton,
Business Office Manager

shamilton@abesgarden.org

Samantha Hamilton was first introduced to Abe’s Garden Community (then called Park Manor) in 2001 when she was a private caregiver for an independent living resident. Since she joined our team full-time, she’s served in various roles across nearly every department, including in-home care, assisted living, housekeeping, and concierge services. As Business Office Manager, her many responsibilities include accounting duties, managing transportation services, hair salon services and our front desk staff.

Bob Himes,
Senior Director of Finance

bhimes@abesgarden.org

Bob oversees Abe’s Garden Community’s accounting and financial reporting. He has over 30 years of financial management experience, including serving as XMI’s Controller for almost 15 years. His previous roles include Certified Public Accountant and Controller for numerous other private industry companies. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Louisiana State University.

Jacob Pursell,
Senior Director of Facility Management

jpursell@abesgarden.org

Jacob joined the Abe’s Garden Community team in 2008, when he was hired as a maintenance technician. His role expanded to Director of Maintenance in 2018 and to Senior Director of Facility Management in 2020. He is responsible for facility management of the entire campus. His Journeyman Electrician and HVAC Technician certifications and repair skills are valuable as he ensures Abe’s Garden Community performs safely and at optimum functionality.

Kylie Stratton,
Senior Director of Home Care

kstratton@abesgarden.org

Kylie manages our home care program, Abe’s Garden at Home. She joined Abe’s Garden Community in 2020 with nearly 15 years of industry experience, most recently as Regional Operations Manager at Accredited Home Care in California. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a minor in Health Services Administration from California State University, Chico (CSUC).

Beverly Theis,
LCSW, Senior Director of Resident and Family Support

btheis@abesgarden.org

Beverly has a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, with a specialization in aging. Her career has involved working with older adults in healthcare, mental health, skilled nursing and community settings. Prior to Abe’s Garden Community, she worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in cardiology and thoracic care.